SENATE BILL 280

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Candy Spence Ezzell and James G. Townsend and Jay C. Block

and Larry R. Scott and Joshua A. Sanchez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS; ADDING THE NEW MEXICO MILITARY INSTITUTE TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY ACT AS ONE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL SCHOOLS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 22-24-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 235, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-24-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Capital Outlay Act:

          A. "authority" means the public school facilities authority;

          B. "building system" means a set of interacting parts that makes up a single, nonportable or fixed component of a facility and that, together with other building systems, makes up an entire integrated facility or property, including roofing, electrical distribution, electronic communication, plumbing, lighting, mechanical, fire prevention, facility shell, interior finishes, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and school security systems, as defined by the council;

          C. "constitutional special schools" means the New Mexico school for the blind and visually impaired, [and] the New Mexico school for the deaf and the New Mexico military institute;

          D. "constitutional special schools support spaces" means all facilities necessary to support the constitutional special schools' educational mission that are not included in the constitutional special schools' educational adequacy standards, including performing arts centers, facilities for athletic competition, school district administration and facility and vehicle maintenance;

          E. "council" means the public school capital outlay council;

          F. "education technology infrastructure" means the physical hardware and services used to interconnect students, teachers, school districts and school buildings necessary to support broadband connectivity and remote learning as determined by the council;

          G. "fund" means the public school capital outlay fund;

          H. "maximum allowable gross square foot per student" means a determination made by applying the established maximum allowable square foot guidelines for educational facilities based on type of school and number of students in the current published New Mexico public school adequacy planning guide to the department's current year certified first reporting date membership;

          I. "replacement cost per square foot" means the statewide cost per square foot as established by the council;

          J. "school district" includes state-chartered charter schools and the constitutional special schools;

          K. "school district population density" means the population density on a per square mile basis of a school district as estimated by the authority based on the most current tract level population estimates published by the United States census bureau; and

          L. "school district population density factor" means zero when the school district population density is greater than fifty people per square mile, six-hundredths when the school district population density is greater than fifteen but less than fifty-one persons per square mile and twelve-hundredths when the school district population density is less than sixteen persons per square mile."

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